Brackets for mounting on a bedside table or the like



Jan. 21, 1969 R. N. IVERSON 3,423,057 I BRACKETS FOR MOUNTING ON ABEDSIDE TABLE OR THE LIKE Sheet Filed Jan. 27, 1967 INVENTOR 'PoLANb N.lvatzsou ATTORNEYS 'Jan. 21,1969 Nv 3,423,057

BRACKETS FOR MOUNTING ON A BEDSIDE TABLE OR THE LIKE Filed Jan. 27, 1967Sheet 2 of z- FIG? United States Patent 3,423,057 BRACKETS FOR MOUNTINGON A BEDSIDE TABLE OR THE LIKE Roland N. Iverson, 2424 Converse St,Dallas, Tex. 75207 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 458,200,

May 24, 1965. This application Jan. 27, 1967, Ser. No.

629,041 US. Cl. 248-296 2 Claims Int. Cl. A47f /13 ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE Brackets for mounting of communications equipment or the likeincluding a rod-type support, the bracket and rod being pivotallyrelated to one another and the bracket having spring-biased detent meansfor holding the rod in selected relation to the bracket.

Cross reference to related application This application is acontinuation-in-part of prior United States application Ser. No.458,200, filed May 24, 1965, and now abandoned.

Background of the invention Field of the inventi0n.'l'his inventionpertains to a bracket, and more specifically to a new and novelcommunication unit in the nature of a nurse call, embodying a bracketassembly in combination with a vertical support and an electricalcommunication unit.

Description of the prior art.lt has been previous practice in hospitals,nursing homes, and similar establishments, to provide communicationunits in patients quarters in proximity to beds, the units usually beingimbedded in a wall adjacent the bed in fixed location. Wall mountedunits require that the bed be positioned with its head portion adjacentthereto, and access for servicing, repair, or replacement is difficult.

Summary of the invention It is an objective of the present invention toprovide a call unit and brackets of a construction such that the unit isadapted for convenient positioning adjacent the head portion of the bed,but is readily removed from that position when desired. Another objectis to supply units as aforesaid adapted for attachment to a bedsidetable or the like, whereby the unit may be positioned at any convenientlocation within a room.

Another objective of importance herein resides in the provision oflaterally swingable supports, including a bracket with changeable stopmeans, the bracket including spring means to maintain the support inselected position. A related advantage is the provision of stop means ofthe type described which is yieldable on impact to prevent damagethereto.

A still further object is to provide a laterally swingable support, andmeans to prevent full rotation of the support. By this expedient,twisting and/ or breakage of electrical lines associated with thesupport is avoided.

Additional objects include the provision of a bracket of the typedescribed supra which is noncompletx in construction and assembly,inexpensive to manufacture, and durable in use.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of thefollowing specification when read in conjunction with the annexeddrawings.

3,423,057 Patented Jan. 21, 1969 Brief description of the drawingsFIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a bracket and call unit constructedand assembled in accordance with the teachings of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged, disassembled perspective view of the brackethereof;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of the apparatus,foreshortened;

FIGURE 4 is a detail sectional view, taken substantially on the section44 of FIGURE 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 5 is another detail view, in cross section on line 5--5 of FIGURE3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view showing details on line 66 of FIGURE 3,looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 7 is a disassembled perspective view of a modified form of theinvention wherein the elements are oriented in a manner somewhat variedfrom FIG- URES 1 through 6;

FIGURE 8 is an elevational view of the arrangement of elements of FIGURE7 in assembled condition; and

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view on the line 99 of FIGURE 8, looking in thedirection of the arrows.

Description 0 the preferred embodiments With more specific reference toFIGURES 1 through 6 of the drawing, the overall unit hereof is generallycharacterized by reference numeral 10 therein. The unit 10 is, as setforth above, adapted specifically for application to an upright support12, such as the side of a bedside table 14. The table 14 is locatedadjacent a bed 16 and preferably at a convenient position near the head18 thereof.

The unit 10 comprises a mounting bracket assembly 20 including asubstantially U-shaped main body portion 22 having an elongated,substantially rectangular back plate 24 attached in vertically extendingattitude to the side 12 of the table by screws 26, or the like. Upperand lower arms 28, 30, respectively, extend from the ends of the plate,and the arms have coaxial openings 32, 34 formed therein, each having anentry slot 36 and 38.

The lower arm 30 has opposite top and bottom faces 40, 42, andsubstantially semicylindrical ridge members 44 project upwardly from theface 40 at lateral, diametrically opposite locations on each side of theopening 34. A pair of substantially cylindrical, upright posts 46project upwardly from the face 40 at locations between the ridge members44 and the body portion 22, for a purpose described below.

The unit further comprises an elongated, tubular, substantiallycylindrical, hollow rod 48 having an upper end portion 50 and lower endportion 52. A lateral arm 54 also of hollow form, is fixed eitherintegrally or otherwise to the upper end portion 50 and has arectangular housing 56 at its outer end containing electrically poweredcommunications equipment 58. An electrical cord 60 extends from theequipment 58 through the arm 54 and rod 48 for connection in acommunications system or network (not shown). As indicated in FIGURES 1and 5, the arm and rod are swingable in the bracket to selectedlocations, the swinging movement being limited as hereinafter set forth.

An annular base collar 62 is connected about the end 52 of the rod 48and maintained thereat by a transverse set screw 64, and a coil spring66 is retained between the base collar and the roller face 42 of the arm30. An annular stop collar 68 is mounted on the rod 48 between the arms28 and 30 and has upper and lower sides 70 and 72 respectively. Thecollar side 72 has a plurality of spaced apart, radially arrangedgrooves 74 therein, positioned in diametric pairs, selectivelyengageable on the ridge members 44 of the arm face 40.

The spring 66 urges the rod 48 downwardly, thus resulting in seating ofthe grooves of the stop collar on the ridges of the arm. A lateralpressure on the arm 54 of sutficient force will, however, cause thegroove to be cammed upwardly against the ridges and permit partialrotation of the rod 48. Full 360 rotation is prevented by a laterallyextending screw 76 projecting from the stop collar and adapted to abutthe posts 46. Thus, twisting and breaking of the cord 60 is avoided.

Referring to FIGURES 7 through 9, the basic components of the inventionare therein disclosed in a modified arrangement having similar operatingcharacteristics and advantages. In this form of the invention the unit acomprises a bracket 100 having a back plate 102 and upper and lower arms104, 106, respectively. These arms have coaxial openings 108 thereinwith entry slots 110 and the rod 112 of the unit extends therethrough.

The upper arm 104 has a bottom face 114 with a pair of post elements 116depending therefrom and also has semispherical detent engagement members118 arranged on diametrically opposed sides of its opening 108 forwardlyof the posts 116. A stop collar 120 of annular form is secured on therod 112 between the arms and has an upper side 122 with a plurality ofspaced apart radial grooves 124 therein positioned in diametric pairs.The detent engagement elements 118 of the arm lower face 114 areselectively engageable within the grooves 124, the stop collar beingfixed in selected position by a set screw 126 or similar means. The setscrew further serves to limit rotation of the rod with respect to thebracket by its contact with the posts .116.

Constant engagement of the upper arm and stop collar is assured by aspring contact assembly 128 comprising a coil spring 130 engaged aboutthe rod and bearing against the upper side 132 of the lower arm 106 andagainst a base collar 134 of annular form. The collar 134 is alsoengaged on the rod 112 and held in place by screw means 136, or thelike.

Operation of this form of the invention is essentially the same as thatdescribed above. In this instance, all detachable components of theassembly are mounted within the confines of the arms of the bracket andare therefore protected from loss during installation or repair of theunit.

Having described and illustrated an embodiment of this invention in somedetail, it will be understood that this description and illustration areoffered only by way of example, and that the invention is to be limitedin scope only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An assembly for mounting on an upright support comprising:

a bracket, including a substantially U-shaped main body portion having aback plate affixed to the upright support, and outward upper and lowerarms;

said upper and lower arms having coaxial openings formed therein, andslots extended to the openings;

the lower arm having top and bottom faces, and having lateral,diametrically opposite ridge members projecting from its top face;

at least one post projecting outwardly from the top face to a heightgreater than that of the ridge mem bers;

an elongated, substantially cylindrical rod extending through theopenings;

a lateral arm secured to the rod and having sound transmission andreception equipment mounted thereon, the rod and arm being laterallyswingable in the openings with respect to the support;

a base collar releaseably secured about the rod below the lower arm;

a spring about the rod between the base collar and the bottom face ofthe lower arm, spring urging the collar and rod downwardly;

a stop collar releaseably secured about the rod above the lower armadjacent its top face, the stop collar having plural, radially arrangedgrooves formed in one side thereof selectively engageable with the ridgemembers of the top face; and

an outward set screw arranged to abut the post to limit rotation of therod with respect to the bracket.

2. An assembly for mounting on an upright support comprising:

a bracket, including a substantially U-shaped main body portion having aback plate afiixed to the upright support, and outward upper and lowerarms;

the upper and lower arms having coaxial openings formed therein, andslots extended to the openings;

the lower arrn having top and bottom faces;

the upper arm having top and bottom faces;

at least'one post projecting downwardly from the bottom face of theupper arm to a given depth;

an elongated, substantially cylindrical rod extending vertically throughthe opening;

a lateral arm on the rod and having sound transmission and receptionequipment mounted thereon, the rod and arm being laterally swingable inthe openings with respect to the support;

a stop collar releaseably secured about the rod and secured theretobetween the upper and lower arms, the stop collar having a plurality ofradially arranged grooves formed therein on one side thereof;

the bottom face of the upper arm having a plurality of detent engagementelements thereon engageable with the grooves of said collar,selectively, and the collar having an outwardly extending elementengageably against said post;

a base collar releaseably secured about the rod between the lower armand the stop collar; and

a spring about the rod between the base collar and the lower arm, thespring urging the collar and rod upwardly whereby the engagementelements of the lower face of the upper arm are engaged with the groovesin the stop collar.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 759,926 5/1904 Smith 2482781,046,479 12/ 1912 McPherson 248226 1,933,333 10/1933 Morgan 248276 X3,345,470 10/1967 Hoffmann 179-150 ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

J. F. FOSS, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 248-283, 285

